Wildcat Women's Soccer Team in Playoffs; Wrestling Begins

Published 11.01.2015

News
Athletics
Wildcat Weekly

The Pennsylvania College of Technology women’s soccer team will travel to SUNY Poly on Wednesday in North Eastern Athletic Conference playoff action while the wrestling team stepped into action Sunday and the seasons ended on Saturday in cross-country and men’s soccer.



Women’s Soccer
Starting its last week of the regular season, Penn College dropped a 5-0 decision at conference unbeaten Penn State Berks on Oct. 25. Berks led in shots, 20-3 (9-2 on goal), and in corner kicks, 5-0.

In nonconference action on Tuesday against Summit University, the Wildcats won, 3-0. Breanna Cline, of Reedsville, scored at 7:41; Laresa Paden, of Mifflintown, tallied at 47:55; and Jane Herman, of Greencastle, found the back of the net at 52:54. Penn College led in shots, 22-5 (10-3 on goal), and in corner kicks, 5-1.

Wrapping up its regular season on Saturday at Penn State Abington, Penn College lost, 2-1, to go to 8-8-2 overall and 7-3-2 in the NEAC. Robyn Beddow, of Lancaster, put the Wildcats on the board at the 13:22 mark, but Abington came back with scores at 22:20 and 78:42 for the win. Abington led in shots, 19-6 (9-3 on goal), and in corner kicks, 5-4.

“I was really happy with how the season went,” second-year Penn College coach John McNichol said.

“I really felt at the end of our season last year and through our spring season that our returning girls did a fantastic job of buying into what we wanted to do as a coaching staff, and adding in a core group of young players, as well, we jelled really quickly and they worked extremely hard.

“We had a great season in terms of what we were looking to accomplish. To qualify for the conference tournament in our second year in the conference is very exciting. We’ve come a long way. The girls continue to work hard and we’re really looking forward to the payoff run this week,” McNichol continued.

If Penn College wins on Tuesday at SUNY Poly, a team it tied, 2-2, at home on Sept. 26, it will play again Saturday in the semifinals against Penn State Abington at Penn State Berks. The championship match is scheduled Nov. 8, also at Penn State Berks. In the other bracket on Wednesday, Lancaster Bible College hosts Keuka College. Berks and Penn State Abington received first-round playoff byes.

“It was a very hard-fought match,” McNichol said of his team's first meeting against SUNY Poly. “It (Wednesday) will be a challenge, it’s four hours away. They’re playing very well right now and have had some great results over the last two weeks. … We need to stay organized and able to defend. We’ve given up some goals recently that we probably shouldn’t have. … We have to take advantage of our chances and minimize what they’re able to do.”

Through Saturday, Penn State Berks led the NEAC with a 12-0 mark, followed by Penn State Abington at 11-1, SUNY Poly 8-2-2, Lancaster Bible and Keuka College both 8-3-1, Penn College 7-3-2, Wells College 6-6, Cazenovia and Morrisville State both 4-7-1, SUNY Cobleskill 3-9, Wilson College 2-10, Gallaudet 1-11 and St. Elizabeth 0-12.

Men's, Women's Cross-Country
Penn College’s men finished 10th in a 12-team field and the Penn College women last in a 12-team field at the conference championships at Cazenovia College. Wildcat Chris Traugher, of Bath, ended 36th of 105 men over an 8K course in 30:56 and Erin Sullivan, of Elizabethtown, topped the Lady Wildcats, finishing 57 of 88 in 32:24.3 over a 6K course.

Also for the Penn College men, Liam McGarvey, of Cogan Station, was 51st in 32:20.3; Nathan Mashack, of Bloomsburg, was 52nd in 32:23.3; William Cox, of Ebensburg, was 74th in 35:25.4; and Matt DeSanto, of South Williamsport, was 78th in 36:12.2.

For the Penn College women, Ashley Mahaffey, of Hughesville, was 60th in 33:01.3; Allison Bailey, of West Chester, was 65th in 34:12.6; Jen Nicholson, of Lock Haven, was 67th in 34:16; Kaitlyn Anderson, of Mastic, New York, was 80th in 38:27; and Sarah Mongiello, of Canandensis, was 82nd in 39:16.5.

“For the men’s team, this was a good start. We placed 10th without our No. 4 runner and he would have made a big difference. … We’re rebuilding. Only two guys came back from last year, so I’m hoping to retain more numbers this year and I’ll have recruits coming in for the fall of 2016,” said first-year coach Nick Patton.

“Going forward, we have to focus on the recruits I bring in and summer training is a big thing. A lot of the guys weren’t able to run a lot over the summer and we have to consistently run every day over the summer,” the coach said.

Men’s Soccer
Entering the final week of the regular season, the Wildcats lost Oct, 25 at Penn State Berks, 5-1. Gerry Lua, of Biglerville, scored the lone Penn College goal on an assist from Dane Cessna, of Meadville, at the 53:24 mark. Berks led in shots, 35-9 (19-3 on goal), and in corner kicks, 9-2.

At Bryn Athyn on Thursday in NEAC play, Penn College took advantage of an own goal by the home team in the second half to send the match into overtime and then won it 2-1 in the second overtime when Robert Klingerman, of Langhorne, scored at the 105:28 mark. Bryn Athyn led in shots, 17-11 (6-5 on goal), and in corner kicks, 8-1.

Ending its season on Saturday at Penn State Abington, Klingerman scored unassisted at the 53:15 mark and the home team tied it at 87:11 to end the scoring in a 1-1 double overtime tie. Abington led in shots, 25-7 (13-7 on goal), and in corner kicks, 8-4. Penn College closed out its season 6-12-1 overall and 4-7-1 in the NEAC during coach Tyler Mensch’s first season at the helm.

“At the beginning of the year, we had eight games in 12 days and, to me, it seemed like it took a toll on us physically and mentally. We started getting out of the gates a little slow, but then, the last (few) matches, we really started to pick it up and see what the potential is for the team,” Mensch said. “I thought we started to play good soccer here at the end of the season, so hopefully that will carry over to next year.”

The coach also noted that early season-ending injuries to two of his key players changed the complexion of the team.

“We want to try and increase numbers. We only had 17-18 guys healthy for most of the season, so it’s tough to train when you only have maybe 12-13 guys at practice. A lot of things went against us this year, but they battled and played their hearts out when it mattered. … There were a lot of positives despite maybe our record not being where we wanted it to be.

“Overall, for the first year, the players bought into the system and what I am trying to get them to do and I’m looking forward to next season and where we can go from here,” Mensch said.

Through Saturday in the NEAC, Morrisville State was 10-1-1, Wells College 9-3, Keuka College 8-2-2, Lancaster Bible College and SUNY Poly both 8-3-1, Penn State-Berks 7-5, Cazenovia 6-6, Penn State Abington 4-5-3, Penn College and Bryn Athyn both 4-7-1, Wilson College 3-7-2, Gallaudet 1-11, SUNY Cobleskill 0-12.

Wrestling
Wildcats wrestlers open their season Sunday at Scranton in the Electric City Duals and coach Schuyler Frey has his squad ready to go with matches set against Muhlenberg, King’s, Rowan and Scranton.

PENN COLLEGE SCHEDULES
Men’s, Women’s Cross-Country
Saturday, Oct. 31—NEAC Championships at Cazenovia College, Jamesville Beach Park, Jamesville, N.Y. Men 10th in 12 teams and women 12th in 12 teams.

Men’s Soccer
Final overall record: 6-12-1
Final NEAC record: 4-7-1
Sunday, Oct. 25 – at Penn State Berks (NEAC), L, 5-1
Wednesday, Oct. 28 – at Bryn Athyn (NEAC), W, 2-1 (2 OT)
Saturday, Oct. 31 – at Penn State Abington (NEAC), T, 1-1 (2 OT)
(End of regular season)

Women’s Soccer
Overall record: 8-8-3
NEAC record: 7-3-2
Sunday, Oct. 25 – at Penn State Berks (NEAC), L, 5-0
Tuesday, Oct. 27 – at Summit University, W, 3-0
Saturday, Oct. 31 – at Penn State Abington (NEAC), L, 2-1
Tuesday, Nov. 3 – at SUNY Poly (NEAC playoff), TBA

Wrestling
Overall record: 0-0
Sunday, Nov. 1 – at Scranton Electric City Duals vs. Muhlenberg College
Sunday, Nov. 1 – at Scranton Electric City Duals vs. King’s College
Sunday, Nov. 1 – at Scranton Electric City Duals vs. Rowan University
Sunday, Nov. 1 – at Scranton Electric City Duals vs. Scranton University
Saturday, Nov. 7 – at Monarch Invitational, Wilkes-Barre
Tuesday, Nov. 17 – host Alfred State, 7 p.m.

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